Process of cleaning grain.



PATENTED JAN. 22, 1907*.

W. R. REID. PROCESS OF CLEANING GRAIN, v

APPLICATION FILED DEC. 30, 1905.

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Specificati n of Letters ,?atent.

Patented an. 22. 1907.

\ Application filed December 30, 1905. Serial No- 294,032:

Be it knownthat I, WILLIAM 'R. REID, a citizen of' the United States,- residing at nSleepy Eye, in the county of Brown and 5 State of Minnesota, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in the Processes of Cleaning Grain, of-which the following is a Specification.

,My invention relates to a process or method of cleaning wheat and other grain preparatory to milling it into flour and other cereal food products, and particularly to the method or process. of removing smut and other adherent extraneous matter from the j; grain-berries by means of a line dry pow- 'Fdered substance applied. to the grain and afterward separated therefrom. and removed together with the shout and other foreign matter by scouring and-air-fciureni; operations. o Practical experiencehas demonstrated that smut and some other adherent foreign substances cannot be satisfactorily removed from wheat by the securing processes in comi'stances are of a somewhat greasy nature the frictional contact of the grains with oneanother, and with the securing devices serves .n1erely to polish their contact-surfacesv and ,causes such substances to impart a gloss and 0 stick. tighter to the grain.

The object of my invention is to provide a simple, and effective method of completely separating andrremgving such'matter from the grain. v 5 i In. carrying out my process I may use any dry finely-powdered substance that serves to coat the grains without injury to them; but I prefer to use tliorouglilycond.itioned pulver: ized and sifted. dry slaked lime. The powder may be intr iduced to the grain in any suitshould be thoroughly mixe able way, as by means of a spout or ordinary feeder; but I prefer to introduce it to the grain in a IHIXiDg-Clltlhbl in. the manner hereinafter set forth. Y The 'rain and powder in the chamber by agitation or otherwise and the powdercoated grain conducted thence into an ordinary grain-scourer or other grain-cleaning machine and subjected to the rubbing and scouring action-of such machine and. to the air-currents employed. therein, whereby the powder, together with the smut, is separated from the grain and conducted away from the machine. In this operation the frictional 5; 5 contact of the powder-coated grains with the powder from the feed-box to chine conduct the separated matter away from the machii'ie, leaving the grain clean and in condition for use in making flour and other food products.

In carrying on my process I prefer to use the apparatus illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in whicl Figure 1 shows a side elevation of the feeder, the mixer, and the scourer, which constitute the machines employed,- and Fig. 2 is a plan view, partly in section, of the feeder and mixer.

In the drawings, C designates the feeder, B the mixer, and A the scourer. shown in outline is the well-l nown Eureka machine, in which the grain is subjected to the action of heaters or brushes in its passage through the anmilar space between the two cylinders l and 2 and at the same time is subjected to the action of air-currents introduced into the space between the cylinders and discharged through openings in the outer cylinder by the suction of the fan 3. grain is also subjected to an upward aircurrent in discharging from the machine through ,the spout 4. The courses of these air-currents are indicated by arrows. The grain enters the scourer from the mixer through the hopper 5. I

The mixer comprises two relatively long and narrow troughs or boxes 6 and 7, in which. are screw-conveyors 8 and 9, arranged to conduct the grain in opposite directions in their respective troughs. The rain is fed into the shorter box 6 by a spout 10 and is conducted by the screw 8 toward. the right to an opening 11 between the troughs, where it passes into the trough 7 and is conducted by the conveyer Qtherein to the discharge-spout 12, which drops it into the hopper 5 of the scourer.

The feeder comprises a hopper or box 13, having downwardly-converging cant-boards .14, which provide a relatively narrow and long opening 15 for feeding the powder into the mixer. In the hopper is a ':ot-ai.'y shaft 16, carrying agitators or stirrers 1.7 keeping the powder in loose condition, and beneath the opening 15 is a screw conveyor 18 in a narrow chamber for conducting the the mixer. As

The scourer The shown, the feeder is arranged over the mixer in. position to cause the powder to be fed into the conveyor-trough 6 through a spout 19.

with owder in dry condition, and as gram is supplied to the mixer-trough 6 and carried along by the conveyer 8 the powder inproper quantity is fed to it through the spout 18,

and the mixture of grain and powder is moved along to the opening 11, through which it is forced into the box 7. Here the material is engaged by the oppositely-moving conveyor 9 and is thoroughly agitated to coat the rain with owder as it is bein conleading to the ducted to the spout 12, scourer.

It will be noted that in conducting the process in the manner described the grain is continuously advancing in a tumbling mass.

under mutual attrition from the time the powder is applied until the grain is discharged from the scourer. Hence this method of cleaning the grain occasions no delay to the usual millin operations, for the treatment is efl'ected w 'le the grain is pursuing an uninterrupted course from the bin to the reducing-machines, and it is desirable to keep the grain in"constant movement or agitation from the time the powder is introduced to the mixer until the cleaned grain is discharged from the scourer.

In practice the proportion of powder to grain used to effect, good results will vary somewhat accordingto the kind and condiuse of lime or any other specific substance or In operation the feed-box 1s kept supplied mixture of substances beyond the limitation that the substances included are such as will not injure the grain-hulls in the practice of the process.

Having described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, 1s

1. The method of removin from grain smut and other impurities, whicii consists essentially in commingling with a mass of grain while continuously advancing and under mutual attrition, a dry finely-powdered material, adapted to coat the berries, and subjecting such advancing mass to the acti: n of a scourer, and of an aircurrent adapted to carry away the detached fine particles.

.2. The method of removing from grain smut and other impurities, which consists essentially in compiingling with a mass of grain while continuously advancing and under mutual attrition, dry finely-powdered slaked lime, and subjecting such advancing mass to the action of a scourer, and of an air-.

current adapted to carry away the detached fine particles.

3. The step in the process of removingfrom grain smut and other impurities, wrhich con-- sists in commingling with a mass of grain while continuouslyadvancing and under mutual attrition, a dry finely-powdered material adapted to coat the berries.

4. The steps in the process of removing from grain smut and other impurities, which consistsin commingling with a mass of grain While advancing and under mutual attrition, a dry finely-powdered material, and advanoing and agitating the commingled mass of grain and powder until the berries are coated with the powder.

In testimony .whereof I have signed my name to this specification, in the presence of two subscribing witnesses, this 26th day of December, 1905,.-

WILLIAM R. REID. Witnesses SAM GETHUs,

HENNINGSEN. 

